Family
by Jonne Aaro
Summary: Daryl x Connie romace. Daryl/Connie/Lydia family unit. I m not a native English speaker.
1. Chapter 1

Daryl was happier than ever before. He didn´t think he would find happiness again after Rick´s death. Now he had an adopted daughter Lydia. He was at home again. It´s been a while since he lived in Alexandria. Something was still missing. Daryl hoped that Connie would come with him to Alexandria but he didn´t dare to ask. Daryl knows that he isn´t good at romantic things but he really wanted to try with Connie. She was special. Daryl didn´t sleep much because he thought about Connie all the time. He was afraid to tell her because he didn´t believe that she would feel the same way.

The next morning Daryl was walking around Alexandria. He went to the library and he found a book about ASL. He wanted to impress Connie when they meet the next time. Daryl took the book with him and started to learn. He learned faster than he thought he would. He knows it will be a lot harder when he is talking to Connie. Daryl thought in his head "What I embarras myself?"

Later Daryl sees Lydia building a snowman with Judith. They ask him to join a snowball fight after they finish building the snowman. Most of the other join in the fight as well. They have a lot of fun but Daryl wishes Connie was with him now. He really wanted to have a snowball fight with her. Daryl was lost in his thoughts so he didn´t do well in the fight.

Later in the evening Daryl goes to talk to Carol.

"You know Ezekiel is the best thing that happened to you after everything chaneged. You should talk to him" Daryl says.

"I know, but I don´t know if i´m ready. I can´t lose him too" Carol says.

"I´m going to Hilltop tomorrow. I can take you with me" Daryl says.

"What are you going to do there?" Carol asks.

"Just making sure everything is alright in there" Daryl says.

Carol has a suspicious look on her face and says "So Connie being there has nothing to do with it?" Carol asks with a smile.

Daryl blushes and doesn´t know what he should say next.

"I saw how you looked at her at the Kingdom. You should tell her how you feel. Besides I saw you reading the book about ASL yesterday" Carol says.

Daryl blushes even more and asks "Are you coming to Hilltop with me tomorrow?"

Carol then says "Yes."

"Alright. I gotta tell Michonne. We leave in the morning."

Daryl goes to Michonne and says "I´m going to Hilltop with Carol in the morning. Just to make sure everything is alright in there."

"Okay. Tell "hi" to Connie from me" Michonne says and smiles

"That´s not…

Before Daryl is able to finish Michonne says "I saw you looked at her when you were here with Henry and Lydia."

Daryl blushes again and says "Yeah, sure."

Daryl then goes into his house to get some sleep before the trip to Hilltop. He then sees Lydia still awake and reading the book about ASL.

"I´m going to Hilltop tomorrow. I´ll be back soon. You´ll be alright in here" Daryl says.

"You must really like her" Lydia says.

Daryl then changes the subject "Actually there is something I want to tell you."

"Remember when you asked me why I left this place?" Daryl asks.

Lydia nods. Daryl then says "I had a brother. His name was Rick. We had an argument how to handle our former enemy. He wanted to spare the life of their leader. His name is Negan. I wanted kill Negan. Me and one of my friends made a plan to kill Negan. I distracted Rick while my friend was about kill Negan. We had a fight. We patched things up but be splitted up when the walker herd approached us. I went back to the camp while he decided to lead the walkers away. He got injured and he led the walkers to the bridge we were building. He blew up the bridge and he disappeared. I spent years looking for him. I never found him. I couldn´t live here until I got the closure. That is why I left this place."

Tears were coming from Daryl´s eyes. Lydia then says "I´m so sorry." Daryl then puts his hand on her shoulder and thanks her.

"I will stay here while you go to Hilltop. You really should tell Connie how you feel about her" Lydia says before going to sleep.

Daryl couldn´t sleep. The story he told Lydia brought back all the memories about Rick. Daryl missed his brother every day. Daryl had hope that he was still alive out there somewhere. He needed proof.

Daryl and Carol left early in the morning with Dog to Hilltop. The weather was nice so they were able to get to Hilltop quickly. They faced several walkers on the road but they took them out easily. They finally arrived Hilltop. Ezekiel is surprised to see them and he comes to the gate and hugs Carol.

"I´m so sorry" Carol says.

"It´s okay" Ezekiel answers.

Meanwhile Daryl is looking for Connie but he doesn´t see her anywhere. Daryl has a sad look on his face. He really wanted to see her. It´s been a while when he last saw her. Far too long. Daryl sits down at the table. Daryl rests his head against his arm. Dog lies down next to his feet.

"What if she never wants to see me again?" Daryl asks himself.

Daryl didn´t even know why he was so sad. He never felt like this before. He has never been in love with woman. He has never been with anyone like that.

"What should I do boy?" Daryl asks Dog

Dog keeps quiet. Daryl is so deep in his thoughts that he doesn´t see Connie approaching him. Connie softly taps his shoulder and she writes "I´m so happy to see you again."

Daryl immediately brightens up and tries to sign "Me too." He messes up a bit. Connie smiles and shows him the right way to do it.

Connie then kneel to pet Dog. Dog is also very happy to see her again. Dog licks her face. "Dog likes you" Daryl says.

Connie smiles and sees how Daryl keeps looking at her. Connie then writes "You have learned some ASL. Why?" Connie asks.

Daryl freezes and he feels like his heart is about bounce out of his chest. Daryl eventually says "You know why" Daryl doesn´t even realize how red his face is because of the weather. Connie smiles and approaches to hug Daryl. Daryl feels better than ever before. He slowly hugs her back.


	2. Chapter 2

It was a long hug. Daryl didn´t want to let her go. Daryl´s heart was beating faster than ever and he felt embarrassed because of it. However Connie seemed to feel the same. She didn´t want to let him go either. Her heart was beating faster than usually. Everyone was watching in silence but neither of them cared. They eventually stop hugging. Daryl sees Carol in the backround giving him thumbs up.

"How long will you stay?" Connie writes.

"I will probably leave tomorrow. I promised Lydia that I wouldn´t be gone for long" Daryl says.

"I understand" Connie writes. Connie was so happy that Daryl was taking care of Lydia. She was the one who convinced Daryl to take Lydia with them. Connie felt some responsibility for Lydia too. Connie wanted to know Lydia too.

"She misses you. Judith too. They asked me to ask you to move to Alexandria" Daryl says. Daryl is too nervous to say "I missed you." Daryl thought about saying it but he didn´t dare. He knew that she missed him too.

Connie smiles and writes "I will think about it. I have to talk to my sister and my friends about it." Daryl is happy but a bit scared when he sees her note.

"Why didn´t I just tell her about my feelings" Daryl asks himself. "I´ll tell her when get to Alexandria" Daryl says to himself.

Connie then walks toward Kelly and others. Daryl waves at her but she doesn´t see it. Ezekiel then comes to talk to Daryl.

"I´m sorry about what happened before" Ezekiel says.

"Nah, it´s okay man. I´m happy you and Carol found each other" Daryl says.

"Thank you. Me too. Seems like you have found someone as well" Ezekiel says before going back to Carol.

Daryl looks at Connie talking to her friends hoping that she would come with him. Soon he sees Connie approaching him. Again Daryl´s heart was beating fast. She was smiling at him and Daryl smiled back. Daryl was very nervous when she started to write something. Daryl tried to peek at her notepad but he wasn´t able to see what she was writing.

"I will come you" Connie writes.

Daryl was so happy to see that. He wanted to hug her but he didn´t dare. He smiles instead and says "I´m so happy you decided to come with me." Connie smiles back at him. Connie then goes back to her friends. Daryl could tell that she was a bit shy. Maybe it was a good thing."It´s okay. I´m shy too."

Daryl goes inside to find the radio. He finds the radio and asks for Michonne or Judith to answer him. After a while Judith finally answers "Hi uncle Daryl. When are you coming back home?" Judith asks. Her voice sounded a bit sad.

Daryl then answers "I´ll be back tomorrow and Connie is coming with me."

"Is she your girlfriend?" Judith asks.

"I don´t know. Maybe one day. I hope. I really like" Daryl says.

"I´m happy for you. See you tomorrow. Over out" Judith says.

"Over and out" Daryl answers.

As Daryl exits the room the radio starts to have cracking sounds. The voice on the radio says "Hello. Hello. Is anybody out there. This is Rick Grimes. Does anybody copy? If you can hear please answer." Unfortunately Daryl doesn´t hear that his brother was talking on the radio. Nobody heard him.

Again Daryl has trouble to sleep. He is so close to Connie but all he can think about is Connie. He wants to be with her. Daryl still didn´t fully realize his feelings but he was happy about it. "Maybe she felt the same" Daryl thinks. Anyway there would be a lot of time to get to know her. There was a lot of things Daryl didn´t want to tell her about his past. He was afraid that she would never want to be with if she knew everything about him.

"What if she knew that I have never been with anyone? Would she just laugh? Would she just turn him down?" Daryl was afraid that she would reject him. Daryl didn´t know how much he needed her. He needs her more than he even knows. Daryl certainly didn´t fall in love easily. He knew that he would only fall love in once. He was already falling for Connie

Connie also had trouble to sleep. She was thinking about Daryl. "I think he likes me. The way he keeps looking at me. That´s cute. I like him too. I should tell him about it. What he finds out that I have never been with anyone before?" Connie tells herself. It had been quite a long time since she last saw him. She didn´t see him after the day she left the Kingdom. She eventually fell asleep.

In the morning Ezekiel then comes to Daryl and says "Carol is gone."

Ezekiel then gives Daryl a letter Carol left him. Carol tells that she is going after Alpha.

Daryl knows there is nothing they can do to stop her and he says "Don´t worry. She´ll be back soon."

In the morning everyone was eating breakfast. Daryl could barely eat. He was looking at Connie all the time. Connie was also looking at Daryl. Their eyes met couple times. Daryl even waved at her both times. This made Connie giggle a bit but she smiled and waved back. Daryl was sitting alone at his table but Connie was sitting with her friends. Kelly, Luke, Magna and Yumiko all gave a questioning look to Connie.

Luke eventually asks "Do you like him?"

Connie blushes but she quickly answer "Yes I do."

"You should tell him. I think he likes you too. He´s been staring at you for a long time" Magna says and smiles.

Connie smiles back and nods. After the breakfast Connie and Kelly meet Daryl and Dog at the gate. Kelly decided to come with Connie. She didn´t want to separated from her sister again. Connie and Kelly hug Luke, Magna and Yumiko before heading out of the gate with Daryl and Dog.


	3. Chapter 3

There was awkward silence when Daryl, Connie, Kelly and Dog are travelling to Alexandria. Connie was walking with Kelly and they were signing and giggling.

"What is going on between you and Daryl?" Kelly asks

"Nothing, yet. I like him and I think he likes me too" Connie answers.

"Oh, I know. He keeps staring at you all the time" Kelly signs and smiles.

Connie blushes but smiles. She feels so happy that someone is looking at her like that. She looked at Daryl the same way.

Daryl couldn´t understand anything. He had forgotten most of his ASL. Connie glanced at Daryl many times and she smiled every time.

Then walkers started to come out woods. There were a lot of them. All of them were very cautious because they might be whisperers. Daryl didn´t trust Alpha but he didn´t want the conflict. Not now.

"Be careful. They might be whisperers" Daryl says.

Connie and Kelly both nod. They all start to take out walkers. Soon the walkers start to come out from behind as well. Connie and Kelly are able to kill the walkers that are in front of the group while Daryl is dealing with the walkers behind. One of the walkers get close enough to Daryl. Daryl falls to the ground with the walker and they roll into small ditch. There is something sharp beneath the snow. Daryl gets a deep cut to right side but he is able to kill the walker. Connie and Kelly rush to help and they take out the remaining walkers.

Daryl is able toget up himself. Daryl cuts of the other sleeve from his jacket and wraps it around his torso to stop the bleeding. Connie and Kelly offer to help Daryl walk but he refuses. Daryl is walking slowly and he knows that he needs help. He is just too embarrased to ask. He wanted to impress Connie but she wasn´t impressed. She was worried and wanted to help.

Connie glances at Daryl all the time to make sure he is still standing and walking behind her and Kelly. Daryl felt dizziness. He was still losing blood. They needed to get Alexandria fast or Daryl could die from blood loss. Daryl was about to fall and walked slower and slower. He eventually fell to the ground. Connie and Kelly rushed to help him. They decided to help him walk for rest of their trip. Daryl felt embarrassed but at the same time he felt good. He was so close to Connie. Daryl used all of his strength to look at Connie. Connie also enjoyed being close to Daryl. Luckily they were close to Alexandria. Dog was barking at the gate and Aaron was there to open the gate.

Michonne and Aaron looked worried when they saw Daryl. He was unconscious and he lost a lot of blood. He was rushed to the infirmary. When Daryl was removed from his jacket and his shirts, Connie saw the scars in his back. She was shocked. She was sad.

"He´s been through something truly horrible" Connie thinks. She wanted to know what happened to him. She wanted tell him everything about herself. She wanted to know him and she wnated to be with him. Connie stayed at the infirmary and she watched as Siddiq patched up Daryl. She stayed with him all night. Lydia was there too but she left at the same time with Siddiq. She wanted to know that Daryl will be okay.

"He is gonna be alright" Siddiq said when he left.

Connie thought about Siddiq´s words. The morning came and Connie woke up. She noticed that Daryl was still unconscious. She was about leave but then Daryl finally woke up. Connie immediately went to Daryl and wrote "You sleep long."

Daryl smiled and asked "You stayed here all night?" Connie blushes and nods. Daryl then takes Connie´s hand into his and says "There is something I need to tell you."

Connie smiles and raises her eyebrows like she already knows what Daryl is about to says. Daryl then adds "I care about you a lot. I like you. A lot. I want to get to know you." Connie has tears in her eyes and she begins to write something. Daryl isn´t able to peek this time. His heart is beating faster than ever.

Connie handed Daryl a note. Daryl was so nervous that his hands were shaking. "I care about you too and I like you too. I wanted to tell this earlier." Connie then kisses Daryl in the forehead she writes another note "I will go to breakfast. See you later." Daryl waves at her as she exits the room but she still doesn´t see it. At the same time Daryl notices Michonne who is standing at the door.

"You saw all of that?" Daryl asks.

"Yes I did charmer. I´m happy for you" Michonne says.

Daryl blushes and says "Thank you."

"You feeling good?" Michonne asks.

"Better" Daryl answers.

"Daryl, there is something I need to tell you" Michonne says.

"What is it?" Daryl asks.

"When you and Judith were talking on the radio, I was with Judith. After you finished your talking, I stayed with the radio for a while. Then I heard something from the radio. I heard Rick. He is alive. I couldn´t hear where he is" Michonne says with tears in her eyes.

Daryl also has tears in his eyes and says "I´ll go look for him."

"I need you stay here Daryl. I want you to take care of Judith and RJ while i´m gone. I´ll be back when I find him. We need to deal with the whisperers. After that I will leave to find him." Michonne says.

Daryl reluctantly agrees. He was so happy that his brother is still alive. There was so much he wanted to tell him. He wanted to tell him about Lydia and Connie. Daryl knew that war with the whisperes would come eventually. Daryl then remembered that Carol went after Alpha and the war would come soon.

"Carol went after Alpha. We need to get ready" Daryl says before Michonne exits the room.

"Yeah, I know. I heard about it yesterday" Michonne answers.


	4. Chapter 4

As the next couple days passed by and Daryl got out of the infirmary. Daryl is sitting at the porch of his house. He couldn´t sleep at all. Rick was all he could think of. He wantedto go look for him but he knew that he had many responsibilities now. He had Lydia and he would be the one to take care of Judith and RJ when Michonne leaves to find Rick. He also didn´t want to be away from Connie.

Connie comes to Daryl and she starts to write something "What´s going on? You have been feeling down for the last two days. Please talk to me."

Connie sees the pain in Daryl´s eyes when their eyes meet. Daryl is fighting tears but he eventually tells her everything.

"I lost someone a long time ago. I spent years looking for him. He was my brother. He was the first one who accepted me as a part of his group. I lost myself the day I thought he died. I just found out that he is alive" Daryl says and his voice cracks several times.

Daryl wipes the tears from his eyes and he looks down again. Connie pats Daryl head softly and tries to make eye contact. She softly puts her hand under Daryl´s jaw and raises his head. Their eyes meet and they look each other. Connie smiles all the time and Daryl smiles too eventually. Connie then leans forward and kisses Daryl. Daryl is surprised at first but he kisses her back. It was a long kiss.

Connie then writes "We should go inside. It´s cold out here."

Daryl smiles and says "Yeah. I know."

Connie then takes Daryl´s hand and she starts to lead him. Lots of thought are going through Daryl´s mind. This is the first time ever he is experienced something like this. They then came to the bedroom. Daryl´s heart was beating fast again. Connie then wrapped her arms around Daryl and started to kiss him. Daryl kissed her back and slowly wrapped his arms around her. They moved slowly backwards. Soon they fell on the bed Connie on top of Daryl.

Connie then takes her shirt off. Daryl then takes of his shirt. Sooon they are both naked. Connie moves slowly on top of Daryl. Daryl tries to hide his moans but he isn´t able to do that. Afterwards Daryl is holding Connie close. Daryl runs his other hand along her bare back as she lays her head on his chest. They are both smiling. After running his hand along her back, Daryl run his hand along her hair. Now Daryl was thinking about Connie and their future together. He was afraid to tell her that this was his first time ever. But it felt good. Daryl felt better than ever. They eventually fell asleep.

Daryl woke up early but he didn´t want to get out of bed. Connie´s head was still lying on his chest. Daryl softly petted her head and ran his hand along her hair. "I´m the luckiest guy in the world" Daryl says to himself. Soon Connie wakes up too and they kiss each other before getting up.

"You know this was actually my first time ever" Daryl says. Daryl hesitated for a while to say the word "ever"

Connie looks surprised but then writes "Mine too." Daryl is surprised and asks "Was I good?" Connie smiles and writes "Yes." Daryl blushes and says "You too."

When they go downstairs for breakfast Connie sees the ASL book and shows it to Daryl. Daryl blushes and says "I tried to learn something for us to communicate better but I forgot almost everything." Daryl says in embarrassment.

Connie smiles at him and writes "That´s cute."

"There is one sign I remember" Daryl says. Connie looks in excitement. Daryl then signs "I love you." Daryl signed it perfectly. Connie feels tears coming from her eyes but she smiles and signs "I love you too." They then hug and the hug lasts for several minutes. They don´t want let go of each other. It was like they were in high school and in love for the first time. Ironically this was the first time for both of them.

They eventually let each other go and they went to eat breakfast together. Lydia noticed that there is something going on between Daryl and Connie. Lydia then says "You are cute together. I´m happy for you."

Daryl and Connie quickly look at each other before thanking Lydia. Everyone seems to be looking at Daryl and Connie. Michonne can´t hide her grin. She was almost laughing. She had never seen Daryl like that. Judith looked happy and she was the only one with Lydia what was going on between Daryl and Connie. Daryl and Connie soon noticed that everyone was staring at them. They looked at each other before kissing each other. After the kiss they saw everyone clapping. They were both blushing but now their relationship was public.

It was a nice day. The sun was shining the weather was warm. Everyone was having fun but Michonne and Daryl exchanged a worried look. They were the only ones in Alexandria who knew that Carol went after Alpha and the war would come soon. However they didn´t want to tell the others. Not now because everyone was having fun and it was such a perfect day and they didn´t want to ruin that.

At the evening Michonne was sitting in the radio room. She was about to call the Hilltop. Then she heard Ezekiel´s voice. "Carol is back and Alpha is dead. She came here with Alpha´s head. We need to get ready." Michonne was happy to hear that Alpha was dead. She then tells Ezekiel that Alexandria will be ready. She also tells him about Rick.

Michonne then goes to Daryl´s house. Shirtless Daryl opens the door. "Sorry for interrupting but I need to tell you something. Carol is back at the Hilltop. Alpha is dead. We need to tell everyone and get ready" Michonne says.

"Alright. We will be ready" Daryl says.

"I´m happy for you" Michonne says before leaving.

Daryl goes back to bedroom. Connie writes "What´s going on?"

"We talk about it in the morning. Okay?" Daryl says.

Connie nods. They then start to make out and they remove their clothes


	5. Chapter 5

After sex Connie wanted to try something different. She started to lick Daryl´s scars. She ran her tongue through Daryl´s scars many times. Daryl was enjoying it. He enjoyed it a lot. Then he remembered that Connie had scars in her back too. He thought that he would return the favor whe she is done. Then she stopped licking his scars. Daryl then started to lick her scars. Connie was surprised at first but she enjoyed it when his tongue ran through her scars. Daryl kept licking her scars a bit a longer. Daryl eventually stops and says "We should get some sleep. Big day tomorrow."

They both fell asleep quickly. They both woke up at the same time. Connie then wrote "What happened yesterday?"

Daryl hesitates his anwer but says "Alpha is dead. Carol left from Hilltop to kill her. The whisperers had a huge herd of walkers. We are going to prepare for a war."

Connie was shocked about the war. She remembered the wars her group has fought. The people she lost in those wars. She knew that war against the whisperers was inevitable after the pikes. She just nods then goes to hug Daryl. Their hug lasts a long time. After the hug they head to the meeting with the rest of the alexanrians.

Michonne is leading the meeting. She informs everyone about Carol and Alpha. She tells everyone that they are going to war. Some of the people are worried but they all agree about going to war. They were happy to know that Alpha was dead.

"There is one more thing I need you all to know" Michonne says.

Everyone looks at her with a concerned look except Daryl and Judith who know what she is about to say.

"Rick is alive. I heard him from the radio. After we have dealth with the whisperers i´m going to find him. It´s a dangerous mission so i´m going to leave alone and i´m asking you to watch over Judith and RJ" Michonne says.

Everyone looks at Michonne with even more concerned look. Some of them think that Michonne is going crazy.

"I know what I heard. We never found his body. Daryl spent six years looking for him. He is alive and i´m going to find him!" Michonne says.

The concerned looks disappears from people´s faces and they believe Michonne. They then start to plan the war. Gabriel volunteers to go to watch tower to keep watch. He takes a walkie-talkie with him before heading out. He goes out alone.

Michonne then goes to inform Ezekiel with the radio about Alexandria´s plans. Ezekiel then reveals Hilltop´s plan and that they have set up watch points too. Michonne tells Ezekiel that Rick is alive. Ezekiel is surprised and happy about it. Carol is in the room with Ezekiel and hears about Rick too. Carol hugs Ezekiel when he finishes his talk with Michonne.

Everyone in Alexandria and Hilltop is a capable fighter so there is no need for training. Everyone was training after Rick disappearead.

It was already getting dark and they haven´t heard about Gabriel. Rosita started to worry. They heard something from a walkie-talkie. "This is Gabriel. All clear so far."

"Alright. Inform us as soon as you see something. Be safe" Michonne says.

Daryl and Connie didn´t have much time with each other. They were both busy with the preparations for war. Every time they looked at each other, they were licking their lips and smiling at each other.

The preparation took the whole day but they were ready. They were ready to face the herd. Daryl decided to take shower after a long sweaty day. Soon Connie joined him in the shower. Daryl wrapped his arms around her and started to kiss her shoulders and neck. They didn´t even realize that they were in the shower almost an hour. They were both a bit embarrassed about it.

After the shower Daryl asked Connie to cut his hair. Connie then writes "I was about to ask you the same. Your face is so hidden behind your hair." Daryl laughs a bit and Connie smiles at him and kisses him in the forehead before starting to cut his hair. Daryl´s hair was short. Daryl didn´t cut his hair before because he didn´t really care about his apperance but things have changed. He had a girlfriend now. He had a daughter now.

Daryl and Connie saw Lydia looking very sad. She was crying and saying "This is all my fault. You should send me back. I don´t want any of you die because of me. Ten of you already died because of me"

"Stop it. It´s not your fault and we are not sending you back. You are one of us. We care about you. We love you. We are your family now" Daryl says and taps her head softly.

Connie nods in agreement and taps her back softly. Connie then writes "Everything is gonna be okay."

Lydia feels a lot better after the talk with Daryl and Connie. Lydia hugs them both before they go to their bedroom.

After entering the bedroom Daryl tells Connie "I´m a lot like Lydia. I was abused too when I was a kid. My father was a violent drunk. He used to beat the shit out of me. He is the one who made these scars. I was six years old years old when he started it.

Connie has tears in her eyes and she feels a lot of anger toward Daryl´s father. Connie then writes "I´m so sorry for you." Connie the hugs Daryl and holds hom tight. Daryl and Connie don´t notice that Lydia was listening to them. She heard the whole story. She felt tears in her eyes too and decided to go back to bed.

Meanwhile at the watch tower Gabriel spots something in the distance. It´s a huge herd. Much bigger than the quarry herd. Gabriel pleads to the Lord for help. Then Gabriel panics and drops the walkie-talkie. He then falls backwards off the ladder and tries to catch himself on a ring by using his foot, which snaps his ankle nearly clean off. Dangling upside down he is met by voice proclaiming "I will save you." The voice is revealed to be Beta who proceeds to slash Gabriel´s stomach open, telling him that he should have whispered. Gabriel is then devoured by walkers.


	6. Chapter 6

It was already morning and most of the alexandrians were still sleeping. They had no idea that whisperers were closing in on Alexandria with their mega herd. They had no idea what happened to Gabriel.

Daryl and Connie were already awake but they are still lying on bed holding each other close. "I wish we would never have to get up" Daryl says. Connie smiles and kisses Daryl. Connie then takes Daryl´s hand and put it on her stomach trying to tell Daryl that she is pregnant. Daryl doesn´t understand but he just smiles and kisses her. "I love you" Daryl signs. "I love you too" Connie signs.

Meanwhile Michonne is keeping watch at the gate. She see something in the distance. She sees a huge walker herd coming toward Alexandria. She goes to warn everyone. Everyone gets up quickly and is ready to fight. Evryone is ready to fight. Judith, RJ, Lydia Gracie, other kids and Dog stay inside while the others fight. Lydia wanted to join the army but Daryl and Connie refused.

"I want to fight too" Lydia says.

Daryl and Connie look at each other before Daryl says "No."

"I know what happened between you and your father when you were a kid. I heard everything. I´m sorry" Lydia says.

Daryl doesn´t answer and walks away with Connie. Lydia is still felling quilty of being a part of the whisperers but she understands that people just want to protect her. Negan is let out of his cell but he is warned if he tries anything. Negan promises that he won´t but Daryl still doesn´t trust him. They plan to lead the herd away from Alexandria.

The herd is already at the gates and two whisperers are able to get over the wall and open the gate before they are killed. Big fight starts and everyone starts to kill walkers. Beta spots Daryl and attacks him. Daryl is caught off guard and Beta manages to get the upperhand. Beta is sitting on top of Daryl and starts to strangle him. Daryl tries to struggle helplessly. Daryl even thinks "That´s it. This is how I die." Connie that Beta is about to kill Daryl and rushes to help him. Connie picks up the machete and impales Beta with it.

Beta says "It´s too late. You are all gonna die. Most of us attacked the other place. We just brought the herd here." Beta dies right after finishing his sentence. Daryl and Connie boot look shocked.

I´m okay. I can keep fighting" Daryl says.

Connie looks suspicious but doesn´t argue because they don´t have time for that. They share a quick hug before joining back to the fight. The alexandrians are able take out the whisperers. Alexnadrias suffer losses too. Eugene gets devoured by walkers and many other residents are killed as well. Kelly has a close call but she is saved by Siddiq.

"We need to lure to herd away" Daryl yells. Then something hits Daryl in the back. It´s an arrow. The arrow impales Daryl´s torso very similarly how Rick was impaled years ago. Daryl screams in pain as he pulls the arrow out. He cuts the other sleeve from his shirt and wraps it around his torso. The rest are able take out remaining walkers inside Alexandria. Daryl goes to find a horse and jumps on it when he finds it. Daryl rides out of the gate before Michonne closes it

"I´m gonna lead the herd away. I´ll be back" Daryl says.

"No way. You are badly injured!" Michonne yells, but Daryl doesn´t hear her. Connie looks for Daryl everywhere but doesn´t find him. She´s then sees Michonne crying at gate. Connie collapses. She thinks that Daryl is gone.

Meanwhile Daryl is leading the herd away. He passes out. He sees a dream about Glenn.

"I´m so sorry about what happened to you" Daryl says and has tears in his eyes.

"It´s okay. It wasn´t your fault" Glenn says.

Daryl and Glenn then share hug.

"Now you need to wake up" Glenn says.

Daryl almost falls when he wakes up and he sees that is already far away from Alexandria. Daryl is in a lot of pain and he passes out again. This time he sees a dream about Beth.

I´m sorry I couldn´t protect you" Daryl says.

"I made my choice. I don´t regret it. It was my own fault" Beth says.

"Don´t say that" Daryl says.

"I told you would miss when i´m gone Daryl Dixon but now you need to wake up" Beth says.

Daryl wakes up and this time he falls of the horse. The walker are not far behind. Daryl passes out again but this time he doesn´t see dreams about anything.

Later Daryl wakes up and he sees that he is in a helicopter. The voice tells him "You are gonna be okay."

The helicopter takes him somewhere far away. Daryl spends the next couple months recovering. After his recovery he forced to work. Nobody told him where he was. Daryl started to plan his espace. He wanted to be with Connie, Dog and Lydia. He thinks about Michonne, Judith and RJ too and how he promised to look after Judith and RJ when Michonne would go to find Rick.

Daryl waited until night. No one seemed to watching the southern wall. As he starts to climb the voice behind him says "You really don´t want to do that." Daryl comes down of the wall and after that two guards take him and throw him in a cell. "Don´t ever try that again!" the guard says before shutting the door.

Daryl stands up and sees that he is not the only one in the cell. Daryl saw someone familiar. The man had shaggy hair and unshaven beard.

"Rick?" Daryl says.

"Daryl?" Rick says.

They then share a long hug. "We are going to get out of this place. I already got far away from here but they caught me three days ago."


	7. Chapter 7

"They are gonna feel pretty stupid when they find out" Rick says

"Find out what?" Daryl asks.

"They are fucking with the wrong brother" Rick says.

Next morning the survivors from Hilltop arrive Alexandria and they tell that they won the fight. They also tell that the Hilltop burned down. They tell that they lost a lot of people. Only Ezekiel, Carol, Magna, Yumiko and Luke survived. Alexandrian are in shock when they hear this.

Michonne then tells what happened in Alexandria. "The whisperers brought the herd here. We lost of a lot people too. We lost Gabriel, Eugene and… Daryl." There was a long pause before Michonne mentions Daryl. Everyone is shocked to hear this.

Magna, Yumiko and Luke look for Connie and Kelly. They find Connie sitting on her bed with Kelly. They all hug.

"I´m so sorry about Daryl" Magna says.

"I should go out there to find him. I have to do it. I need a closure" Connie signs and has tears in her eyes.

"We will come with you" Yumiko says.

Connie thanks everyone and they hug again. They decide to leave tomorrow to find Daryl. The next morning they meet Michonne at the gate. "I will stay here for a while before going to find Rick. I will help you find Daryl first" Michonne says. Connie thanks and hugs her.

They spend days for looking Daryl. Eventually Connie finds Daryl´s bloodied vest and crossbow. Connie begins to cry and Kelly goes to comfort her.

"We are going to find him. I promise. We need to go back now" Connie signs.

Connie nods and they share a quick hug.

A lot of walkers start to approach the group and the group decides to head back to Alexandria. Connie´s heart is beating fast as she tries look for walker Daryl but she doesn´t see him. She feels relieved and sad.

Michonne decides to stay a bit longer in Alexandria to look for Daryl. She wants to help Connie find closure. Michonne wants closure too. Lydia has been feeling very down after Daryl´s disappearance. She has been in her room all the time.

Connie washes Daryl´s vest and starts to wear it every day. She rests in Alexandria for a couple days before going out again. Connie wasn´t feeling well. She had a feeling of nausea. She thought she had to vomit. She visited Siddiq who reveals that she is pregnant. Connie was so happy about that. She a feeling before that she was pregnant. However is was broken about Daryl not knowing this.

Connie rests for a couple more days before going to look for Daryl. She meets Michonne at the gate. They head out together. On the road Michonne tells Connie about Rick. Michonne tells Connie that she was pregnant when Rick disappeared and how she looked for him. Michonne promises to Connie that she will stay in Alexandria for a while.

Connie then writes "I´m pregnant."

Michonne and Connie share a hug "We are gonna find him" Michonne says

Rick and Daryl spend months waiting for their moment. Daryl tells Rick everything about the whisperers. Rick shocked and angry when hears about the pikes.

"What happened to you after the bridge?" Daryl asks.

"Jadis found me. Then the helicopter picked me up. How did you end up here? Rick says.

"The whisperers brought the herd in Alexandria. We lost Gabriel and Eugene. We were able to close the gates and kill the whisperers and walkers inside Alexandria. I got shot with an arrow and I volunteered tolead the herd away. When I was leading the herd away, I passed out. Then I woke up and I was in a helicopter. After I was healed here, I tried to escape. They caught me and here I am." Daryl says.

Rick is shocked but and asks about Michonne and Judith. Daryl tells him that they are fine. Daryl doesn´t know how to tell Rick about RJ. Then they hear that someone is approaching the cell alone. The guard opens the cell door to bring the food for Rick and Daryl. There is only one guard and Rick and Daryl realize that this is their chance. Rick and Daryl attack the guard and kill him. They then make their way to the armory.

They take a machine guns and several clips. They start to kill eveything that comes across them. They are able to kill all of the soldiers. They then make their way to the leader of this place. They find the leader and they take him out slowly as he begs them to finish him.

After killing the leader Rick and Daryl pour gasoline everywhere. They make a gasoline trail leading outside the gates. Daryl lights up the cigarette he found from the leaders office. Then he throws the cigarette in the gasoline trail. Rick and Daryl walk off as the community burns in the background. Then they hear an explosion and they both smile.

Back at Alexandria Connie´s pregnancy was already showing. She was less than a month away from giving birth. Siddiq told her that baby was a boy. Lydia was feeling much better. She was happy that she would have little brother. She needed it. Michonne was still in Alexandria but she was packing her bags. She stayed in Alexandria much longer than she intended. She hadn´t heard anything from the radio since she first heard Rick.

Michonne goes to Judith and RJ. "I´m going to find your father now. Remember when I told you that he was alive. Maybe uncle Daryl is with him" Michonne says.

"Bring them home" Judith says with tears in her eyes.

"I will. I promise" Michonne says.

They share a long hug. "I´ll be back soon. Listen to Aaron. He will look after you while i´m gone" Michonne says.

"Okay mom" Judith says.

They hug again before Michonne heads out of the gate. Connie wants to go look for Daryl but Kelly stops her telling that she shouldn´t go out now. Connie eventually agrees and decides to stay. She had been looking for Daryl almost every day for the last eight months. She has a lot of hope that he is still alive.


	8. Chapter 8

After burning down the community Rick tells Daryl that they made some kind of experiments with people. Daryl is disgusted after hearing that.

"Where are we?" Daryl asks.

"Somewhere in Ohio. It´ll take one week to get to Alexandria" Rick says.

"Alright" Daryl says.

"What else you have been doing the last six years?" Rick asks.

"Nothing, really" Daryl answer and doesn´t tell him about Connie and Lydia.

Rick and Daryl travel the next three days without any trouble. They face some walkers on the road but they take them out easily. Then they see somthing in the distance. As they get closer Rick and Daryl see Michonne. Rick and Michonne run to toward each other and they share an emotional long hug. They both have tears in their eyes and tell each other how much they missed each other. Michonne is surprised and happy to see Daryl with Rick and they share quick hug.

They find a small cabin. In the cabin Rick and Daryl tell Michonne everything. Michonne then reveals that Rick has a son. Rick is excited and sad at the same time. He wants too keep going. He wants to meet his son RJ.

"I´m sorry I didn´t tell you about RJ. I didn´t know how to tell you about it" Daryl says.

"It´s okay. We should leave now. I want to meet my son" Rick says.

"We leave in the morning" Michonne says and kisses Rick.

"Fine" Rick says and starts to make out with Michonne. Daryl steps out of the cabin and gives Rick and Michonne some privacy. Daryl thinks about Connie. He is so deep in his thought that he misses his shot when he tries to shoot a squirrel. He tries to hunt a bit longer before returning to the cabin. Rick and Michonne are already sleeping when Daryl enters the cabin. Daryl goes to other room and tries to sleep. However he has trouble sleeping. Connie is all he can think of. He is so excited to see her again. "What if she doesn´t want me anymore?" Daryl thinks to himself. Daryl isn´t even sure why he would think something like this. Finally Daryl falls asleep but his sleep doesn´t last long because Rick and Michonne wake him up and they continue their trip to Alexandria.

"Is everyone okay at Alexandria?" Daryl asks and sounds a bit worried.

"Everyone is okay" Michonne says and winks her eyes.

Daryl looks relieved and he looks surprised about the wink but he doesn´t ask about it. They walk a long time toward Alexandria. They only takes couple breaks and their breaks last for couple hours. Finally they see the windmill in the distance. They start run toward it but a small group of walkers stop Michonne, Rick and Daryl. They take out the walkers easily and they keep running toward the windmill.

Kelly is keeping watch at the gate and she sees Michonne, Rick and Daryl coming. She goes to Connie and signs "You should come outside. Bring DJ too." Connie surprised and follows Kelly outside with Lydia and DJ. They see Judith and RJ playing outside. Judith and RJ see everyone rush to the gate so they decide to go to the gate too.

Judith and RJ rush to Michonne and they hug. Judith then hugs Rick. Rick is crying ot joy when he is finally reunited with his family. Finally Rick meets RJ. Rick takes RJ into his arms and hugs him. Rick tells RJ that he is his father. Connie gives DJ to Lydia and rushes to hug Daryl. The hug lasts for a long time and they both have tears in their eyes.

Connie then takes Daryl´s hand and leads him to Lydia and DJ. Daryl is surprised to see DJ and takes him into his arms.

"Hey Little-asskicker. This is your father" Daryl says.

Connie and Lydia both smile and Lydia says "His name is Daryl but we call him DJ."

Daryl is happy to hear that. Rick is very surprised to see that Daryl has a family of his own. Rick tells Daryl that he is happy for him. Daryl tells that he is happy for Rick too. Later in the evening Rick, Michonne, Judith, RJ, Daryl, Connie, Lydia and DJ have a dinner together. Rick and Daryl tell everything what happened to them and Lydia and Judith tell everything what happened in Alexandria while they were gone.

"Everything is gonna be fine. We are together again and nothing will never rip us apart again" Rick says. Then they all share a big group hug.


End file.
